Politics live blog - Monday 17 January
Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen
8.53am: I hope Cameron's public sector reform speech later today is a bit more coherent. In that interview, on the subject of the NHS, he and Humphrys were rambling all over the place. I felt the interview improved as they moved on to other subjects. Here are the main points.
Cameron rejected claims that he was imposing sudden change on the NHS. "There's nothing in these reforms that hasn't been tried in some way in the NHS," he said. The changes were "evolutionary". There was also "a lot of enthusiasm" amongst doctors for what was happening, he claimed.
He refused to deny reports that Andy Coulson offered to resign as his communications chief. Cameron said that "bad things" happened when Coulson was editor of the News of the World. But he did not think it was right for Coulson to be punished twice. As communications chief, Coulson had done a good job, Cameron said.
He insisted that the government has not given up trying to stop banks trying to pay large bonuses. When it was put to him that big bonuses would be paid, he said this was not "a done deal". The government is trying to reach a settlement with the banks, and wants to announce details in the next few weeks.
He hinted that there could be measures in the budget to address rising fuel costs. But he acknowledged that there were difficulties with the fuel price stabiliser idea that is being examined by the Treasury.
8.32am: Humphrys asks if it is true that Andy Coulson offered to resign.
Cameron says "bad things" happened when Coulson was editor of the News of the World. He believes in giving people a second chance. He is concerned about the idea of Coulson being punished twice for the same thing.
Cameron won't discuss private conversations.
In other words, he is refusing to deny claims that Andy Coulson offered to resign.
Cameron s! ays that Coulson has done a good job as his communications chief. He says there have not been complaints about him in this role. "He has worked for me for many years. I think he does a very good job."
The interview ends. Evan Davis moves on to another item. He says that this is meant to be the gloomiest day of the year. Humphrys asks Cameron, who is still in the studio, if he feels gloomy. Cameron says that he actually feels "chirpy".
8.30am: Humphrys asks about fuel costs.
Cameron says that he recognises that fuel costs are "extremely painful".
Q: Will there be a fuel price stabliser?
Cameron says he wants the government to examine the idea. There will be a budget in March.
I do want to see some method of sharing the burden between the taxpayer [and the government]
8.29am: Humphrys asks about the bankers. Why did he not ask Bob Diamond, the Barclays chief executive, to cut his bonus.
Cameron says the government has been having extensive talks with Barclays about this issue.
Q: Why don't you just insist they cut their bonuses?
Cameron says there is a difference between the state-owned banks and the other banks.
Q: But we know they are going to pay huge bonuses.
Cameron says that this "isn't a done deal". A settlement will be announced within a few weeks. The state-owned banks will be "back-markers" when it comes to paying bonuses.
A balance has to be struck. The state-owned banks need "effective leadership".
Overall, Cameron says he wants a settlement with lower bonus pools and high tax payments to the Treasury.
Q: But you're prime minister. Can't you insist on this?
Cameron says people have contracts.
8.25am: Q: But you must be worried about the pace of change. You asked Oliver Letwin to review the plans.
Cameron says Andrew Lansley has "a huge knowledge and love and understanding of the NHS". The reforms are right.
We should aim for excellence and we should not put up with second best.
8.23! am: Came ron says his changes are "evolutionary". The changes are not being introduced "in one great big big bang".
The reforms will cost 1.4bn. But they will save 1.7bn within two years, he says.
Q: People like the NHS. Satisfaction with the NHS is greater than ever.
Cameron says the biggest rate of satisfaction is often with one's GP. People know their GP. They do not know who runs the local primary care trust. These changes will give more power to GPs.
Q: Why does it have to be done now?
Cameron says it is right to start change now. He has looked back at previous governments. They waited too long before starting to reform public services.
Also, these changes will be introduced in a "gradual" way.
There is not a "quiet life" option.
With NHS costs rising, and drug costs rising, the NHS cannot be left as it is, he says.
This is about having "a healthier nation", Cameron says.
Q: But the NHS has been getting better over the last 10 years.
Cameron says there are many good things that have happened in the NHS. But health inequalities are worse than at any time since Victorian times.
Q: But, under these reforms, we won't have a national health service. Services will differ locally. We'll be back to the postcode lottery.
Cameron says there are huge variations now.
One of the problems with the public services is that the better off are able to opt out. The poorest cannot. Empowering GPs will help people in the poorest areas.
Cameron says he will give people "a much greater choice" over GPs. "We are giving people a route out of poor service."
Cameron says he is not surprised that the trade unions are opposed to his plans.
Q: Do you accept that this is high risk?
Cameron says all change involves risk. "I don't accept that doing nothing is an option."
8.16am: John Humphrys is interviewing Cameron. He suggests the NHS will be the defining issue of the next election (which is a fairly bold assumption). Yet Cam! eron's p lans have come in for a great deal of criticism.
Q: Who wants a huge reorganisation of the NHS?
Cameron says he "cherishes" the NHS. He wants it to be as successful in the future as it has been in the past. But there are two reasons why he wants to reform it.
NHS spending is now almost at the EU average. But outcomes are not as good as elsewhere in Europe. That should change.
Also, health costs are going up. Cameron says he wants to to make the service more efficient.
Q: But you said that there would be no top-down reorganisation?
Cameron says previous reforms involved "rebadging" of NHS bureaucracy. Cameron says his reforms are different. He is stripping away bureaucracy.
Q: But people did not ask for this.
Cameron says increasingly doctors are asking for these changes. "There is a lot of enthusiasm for what we are doing."
There is nothing in the reforms that has not been tried somewhere in the NHS, he says. For example, GPs commissioning services, or local government having a greater role.
7.58am: David Cameron is going on the offensive today. With his NHS reform bill being published on Wednesday, and his plans coming under increasingly fierce attack from the medical profession (as the Guardian reports this morning), the prime minister is trying to persuade the public that he is not being reckless. He is making a big speech on the subject this morning. And at 8.10am he will be on the Today programme.
Here's a list of some of the items on the diary for today.
9.45am: Nick Clegg gives a speech at the launch of a Demos report on parenting.
10.30am: Lord Taylor of Warwick, the former Tory peer, is due to go on trial accused of fiddling his expenses.
11am: Cameron delivers his speech on NHS reform.
Afternoon: Iraq inquiry releases a new set of official documents about the war.!
A s usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web.
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